The Museum
RESTORATION vs RENOVATION Contemporary Letter (1973) from Jeanne Minhinnick
on the redecoration, presented as a restoration, undertaken between 1971-73, with article from Ontario Homes & Living, Dec 1965, with comparison photographs

PDF document incorporating complete series of contemporary correspondence

Note to visitors referred by Shadowicc - Metaphysical investigations,
Much of the information provided on the Shadowicc website is incorrect (one must wonder if the source again was Museum staff) as to matters of _fact_ or is summarized incorrectly. No contact information is provided to contact the webmaster at Shadowicc.
There are 4 paintings of Hattie Phillips' in Glanmore (Cinderalla and the Prince, donated at time of sale, portrait of Jessie, donated by myself, protrait of Percy Phillips, not authenticated). All of the remaining paintings by Hattie Phillips are, as of my last knowledge, in Honest Ed's restaurants in Toronto, as he purchased them from Brian Dodge, Journey's End, Toronto dealer in collaboration with Roy Higgins, who managed (?) the private sale at Glanmore held on February 28th, 1973 for those items that were not included in the documents of sale (donations converted to chattels). Hattie Phillips' paintings were were marked not be sold as my mother had intended to give to the Museum. My understanding is that the Museum Management Board, in any case, was not interested in these paintings by Hattie Phillips (as can be seen in the photographs from 1883 in Life At Glanmore, by Sheila Chapline) as they had the Couldery Collection to house. Beyond the furniture, the Museum Management Board had little or no interest in art by Hattie Phillips. Most of the art collection in the Musem is known as the Couldery collection and has no association with Hattie Phillips..

The name of the estate historically is "Glanmore". as is spoken to quite clearly on the following graphic created from a Dance Card given to ladies on the first formal opening of Glanmore in 1883, by JPC and Hattie Phillips. Glanmore remained "Glanmore" until 1971, when it was rechristened as Glanmore _House_ by the members of the Museum Management Board/Belleville Historical Society/those involved with the "renovations" presented as "restorations" to the public since the day it opened as a Museum, a member of which made the statement to my mother that Glanmore was restored to the way, in the opinion of those involved, the Phillips "should" have lived, not the way they "did".

Further, this recent new _story_ that my mother _donated_ Glanmore, the house itself, is completely incorrect

Contemporary to the sale of Glanmore, my mother had been in some contact with Ward Price in Toronto with respect to gutting Glanmore and selling all contents at auction, selling the land. This was a definite option at the time, but, she wanted Glanmore preseved as it had been since the time its construction, and the City of Belleville needed a Museum to house the Couldery Collection. Unfortunately, the commitments made to my mother at the time by those negotiating on behalf of the City were never honored - clearly borne out in FOIA documents and family correspondence, and still aren't to this day. In my personal opinion, given the complete mispresentation of the original site, coupled with the documented pejorative comments made about my mother, to my mother, and other members of the family, over the years in attempts to correct errors, I wish she had sold the land and the house had been torn down. It would have been better for the family rather than the lies we as individuals have been subjected to by ill-diposed people since the day Glanmore opened as a Museum.

The fact is, My mother sold Glanmore for $44,000. and change, at a loss admittedly (because the Board said that the roof needed replacing (which was why she sold it) - this work was not done as committed to until the mid-90's, as according to an Ontario Intelligencer article quoting Rona Rustige, the Curator, the roof had not been touched since the time of Glanmore's construction. This led to many structural difficulties, leaks, etc., over the years, definitely predictable given the roof was caving ("leaking like a sieve") in when Glanmore was sold in 1971. Monies were sent to Belleville for these repairs between 1971-3 (FOIA documents), but apparently not done, possibly rather being used to put in apartments for the Caretaker, repaint, replace original carpets, cut a staircase to the basement underneath the free-flowing staircase in the front hall, the sad litany of the destruction of the interior of Glanmore goes on.

My mother donated most of the contents, however, her donations were converted to chattels in the sale documents, as no money for a cost-sharing agreement with the federal government would be forthcoming unless my mother "could be induced to include the contents". Because of this conversion, it took approximately 30 years to have the provenance of the indigenous contents of Glanmore, as until that time, they were presented to the public as coming from the "Couldery Collection", from a family that has no historical association with Glanmore. The Salaman bequest (the Couldery Collection) was used by the City of Belleville as 1/2 the purchase price - that was and is their only association with Glanmore. They were never in Glanmore personally - in any context.